Speaker #0Hello and welcome to the third season of Everything Happens for a Reason, the podcast dedicated to the business, management, communication sides of creative jobs. If you've been following me for a while, well, I'd like to thank you for your loyalty. And if you've arrived here by chance, or rather for a reason, I'd like to thank you for your curiosity. I hope this episode will make you want to discover more. My name is Lili Bonnet. I'm a consultant and business coach. I also organize and facilitate workshops and training sessions, and have been granted with the Calliope certification, which attests to the quality of training services provided by organizations and independent trainers. Because what drives me is to grow and help others grow. Creative management. Management through creativity. Well, for some this is almost an oxymoron, but these two words are in fact complementary, even inseparable. Before telling you more about this topic. Well, let's start with the soft skills, because creativity is a major soft skill. So what are soft skills? Well, the term actually has a mystical origin. It comes from the language of the Arapaho Native American tribe and means the stone that is the source of all life. And for the record, the scientific community suspects that Chuck Norris or Keanu Reeves, among others, have possessed. this stone. So well the US army invented the concept of soft skills during the Vietnam war. The term was used to describe any skill that was not involving interaction with a machine, what we might call hard skills or technical skills now. And so soft skills basically are the ones that are nevertheless crucial in warfare, troop management, motivation, strategic thinking, and so on. Today, particularly in the field of recruitment, we distinguish between hard skills, which relate to inanimate subjects, and soft skills, which encompass all other skills relating to animate subjects. And now we can also talk sometimes about mad skills, basically skills that are exceptional, so rare, unique. extraordinary in terms of their level of excellence, expertise or originality. So how could we define soft skills? Well, basically, they are the skills that enable us to adapt successfully in a given social temporal context by combining our ability to think and interact with others. So skills that enable us to adapt successfully in a given social temporal context by combining our ability to think and interact with others. So you can find many different tools to actually assess soft skills. The most widely used currently is job teaser Hester H10. And if you're curious, you can even take the test. It's free. You can check their website and then you will be able to identify your main soft skills according to their reference. So as I said, well, there are many classifications of soft skills and there actually are hundreds of soft skills. But at least people mainly agree on the four C's, which I love. Creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. To me, these are really the four main essential abilities for thinking and interacting. So they're crucial. Although I would obviously love to talk in detail about critical thinking, communication and collaboration, because there's so much to talk about. Well, I'm going to keep my promise for today and focus on creativity, despite what we may think. it's not reserved for creative types or artists. Just as I am not a fan of tests or methods to determine a psychological profile in management, Between brackets, because I believe that we can be a little bit of everything at the same time, or that we can use one aspect at a given moment, and that we should basically not pigeonhole people because it restricts them. Well, end of brackets, the same applies to creativity. I don't think that it's limited to creative fields. That's where it's most easily expressed, obviously, because it's almost an urge. and irrepressible need. However, it's a quality that can and should be able to flourish at all levels of a potential hierarchy and in all sectors. Who has never held back from sharing an idea? At school, with family, in a meeting, with friends or even with strangers? Saying, well, that idea is ridiculous, it won't work, people will laugh at me. It's not my area of expertise, I'll leave it to the specialists. Well, what holds us back, what restrains us, is obviously the fear of being judged by others, linked to a lack of self-confidence, and certainly to our worst or best enemy, should I say, the imposter syndrome. And above all, it is society and the boxes in which we try to place everyone. Place, indeed. This is obviously connected to place. To find your own place, your spot. Well, we're reassured by fitting in two categories that define us. And to find our place when it's not clearly defined, well, we have to take it. And to do that, we need a lot of audacity and assertiveness. So you might actually wonder, what is assertiveness? Well, it's a concept that's been developed by a couple of American psychologists in the 70s. And it's basically the way to be so confident and respectful of yourself and of others that you can express any kind of message clearly and strongly. And make your point across, basically. But really, the notion of mutual respect is crucial in assertiveness. So back to the place and how we can take it. Well, audacity, assertiveness, which means, like I said, confidence, a lot of self-confidence and obviously self-knowledge, hence knowledge of others. It's it's. Quite tough to dare to speak up, to take your place for some people. But just try it. Let's do it. Share your ideas, even when they seem, you know, silly or useless or off the mark at first glance. And again, this is probably self-judgment. There is an expression that encourages us to be off the mark. And I love it. It's think outside the box, outside the framework. For those who work, you know, with me or, you know, have worked with me in the past, you know that the first kind of like advice that I give is to set the framework. You know that it's essential before you can actually expand a framework or step outside of it. Thinking outside the box is possible because of creativity. So what is creativity? Well, it's the ability to transform something that already exists in a new way or to produce something completely innovative. The ability to transform something that already exists in a new way or to produce something completely innovative. It depends on many factors. Cognitive, which means analytical and thinking skills. Cognitive, related to our personality. Affective or emotional, related to our emotions. Environmental, depending on the context. Creativity can and must take many different forms and be expressed at all levels and in all sectors of activity. So what does it mean, you know, what does it involve to mobilize your creativity? Well, in... It can go from ideation, meaning actually having ideas, you know, building ideas. Innovation, originality, inventiveness, divergent thinking, integrative thinking, and my favorite one probably, an opportunistic view of failure. Failure is an opportunity. I recently went to the Virgil Abloh archive exhibition in Grand Palais in Paris. And it was really interesting to see that, well, first of all, he was a... great collector of things, of anything, which was part of his creative process. And he always tried and saw everything like trial and failure as an opportunity to make and to create. Let's dispel a few generally accepted ideas. you know, stereotypes, as we might believe that creativity means total freedom. Well, no, it doesn't. Working creatively does not necessarily mean working without constraints, because on the contrary, the clearer the initial framework, the creative brief, for instance, well, then the more creativity can be expressed, and moreover, many people reach their maximum creative potential. when they're closest to the deadline, you know, when you feel up against the wall. And that reminds me of Michel Legrand. He's a renowned French musician, composer, maestro. And I've watched a great, fascinating documentary about him. And his entourage recounts, for instance, how he could compose an entire film soundtrack in just a few hours at night. Like the day before, I mean the night before meeting with the film director. Basically, you can see how procrastination up until the last minute can be a real incubator for the creative process. Another stereotype is thinking that, you know, creativity means working in total mess disorder. Well, this may be necessary for some, but we often need to tidy up. to clean our desks, for example, or studio, in order to clear our heads and make room for creative thoughts. Some people also need to ritualize their creative process. They can, you know, have habits. You can also need to walk. You know, there's a great concept that is called walk and talk. Sometimes just, you know, getting out and walking and then talking, it will... definitely enable you to put your, you know, your brains in action. Throughout my career, I've been confronted with creativity in my management. I say confronted, it's quite a strong word indeed, but it's because it has not always been easy for me and my thoroughness. I have worked with complex, brilliant personalities with very specific needs and objectives. and a sometimes winding path to satisfy them. I often came up against their desires, which contradicted my management style and the framework I had established. But in hindsight, I know that I actually often lacked flexibility with them. And by constantly hitting walls, I learned how to be more agile, and I've developed methods and tools designed to facilitate and optimize everyone's lives, including my own. Since I launched LBM, Lili Bonnet Management, four years ago, I've been making these techniques available to the creative entrepreneurs that I support and work with. It is a toolbox that I constantly add to, refine and adapt to each individual profile or collective. And which can obviously be offered to sectors that are not necessarily linked to the creative world, but which will benefit from this sensitive and human-centric approach. Because I'm firmly convinced that the more creativity is placed at the heart of managerial actions, well, the better. The goal is for companies to prioritize their teams more and more. as people are clearly the best asset of any organization. As I said, immersing oneself in creativity is not always easy, and it is essential to provide a good framework for it. Likewise, introducing too much rigidity can have counterproductive, frustrating and demotivating effects. Too much process kills the process. And if we include a little more creativity, innovation and openness, we can achieve a better balance. This way, everyone feels acknowledged and listened to. Their needs are being taken into consideration. which increases their motivation and therefore their performance. The business benefits immediately and we can invest again and grow a virtual circle. Win-win. So what do I mean by creative management? Well, it's the act of creating and maintaining a stimulating work environment that is conducive to the expression of all forms of creativity. through active listening and open-mindedness. Management through creativity contributes to the autonomy, involvement, commitment of each member of the team, whose sensitivity and uniqueness become a strength. However, watch out, this is not a battle of egos. Everyone has their place. Management by creativity must be based on a specific framework, by working in cooperation and serving collective intelligence. And obviously a specific framework is also crucial within a creative environment, as creators often need keys to management because their initial job is not to manage. This is just as essential in a company from a different sector. which needs to inject creativity at all levels in order to optimize the workforce. So how does it work in practice? Well, creative management can manifest itself in many ways. For example, you can establish rituals that allow creativity to flow, let the creative juices flow, such as regular brainstorming sessions on many different topics. Or changing workstations every other month, anything. It's also by encouraging initiative and test and learn. We propose, we try, we analyze. And then we see if we want to duplicate it or amend it. By promoting, you know, generating ideas. And to encourage also integrative and... divergent thinking for conflict resolution, for instance. Anyway, the possibilities are endless, just like creativity. Soft skills and creativity in particular are therefore a very powerful lever for development of oneself, of interpersonal relationships, and of the business. And when combine with leadership which will certainly be the subject to another podcast, it's a wonderful way to reveal everyone's strengths and areas of genius and to foster cooperation where everyone finds their place and flourishes in the achievement of personal and common goals, hence creating momentum. This reminds me of another artist. American artist Mononien. I went to his concert a while back and I was mesmerized. He's a right-handed bass player who plays left-handed on a right-handed electric bass held upside down. Yeah, I'm not sure if you followed, but anyway. What does Mononien have to do with management, you might ask? Well, first of all, because I'm left-handed and proud of it. Hashtag team lefties. I've spent my whole childhood adapting to a life made by and for right-handed people. Every time I ask myself, okay, which way do I screw this in? My mother would inevitably reply, the opposite way to what you think. And that's how I got to find my bearings for a long time. And I eventually developed, well, ambidextrous skills, but mainly adapting skills. Secondly, because, well... Beyond having played alongside Prince, Mononion has his own very personal way of playing. His technique is unique and it is the very essence of his experimental style. Aside from his groove and his band, his musicality and his originality, well, the guy lives his thing to the fullest, wearing neon clothes and a ski hood, I love the fact that he adapts the instrument to his practice, rather than the other way around. Yeah, you see where I'm getting at. It's like management. You can't force people to adapt to tools that don't suit them, or that they don't relate to. Agility means offering several tools and letting everyone choose the ones that work for them at a given time. If you wish to explore this topic further, or if you're ever considering training or organizing a workshop, please feel free to contact me. I would love to explore this with you and your team. Thank you. Thank you for listening. I do hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to share, to spread the love, grant it with five stars on Apple Podcasts, and post your comments on your favorite platform or on Instagram. Stay tuned for the next episode, a new guest on the 15th of each month, a bonus or a solo once in a while. And until then, keep in mind that everything happens for a reason.
